


A Pair of Liars

by HeadphoneArcheologist



Series: We Have Food At Home (Danganronpa Family AU) [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Fluff, Kokichi flirts with Shuichi by getting arrested, Multi, Pre-Slash, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24532024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeadphoneArcheologist/pseuds/HeadphoneArcheologist
Summary: Celestia Ludenburg never saw herself as the nurturing type, and that certainly hasn't changed even after she became the sole guardian of her younger half brother Kokichi. Though he has a tendency to try her patience to the point of insanity, Celeste does love her brother and would do most anything if it means keeping him safe.Then she gets a call that Kokichi has been arrested.
Relationships: Celestia Ludenberg & Oma Kokichi, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Series: We Have Food At Home (Danganronpa Family AU) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1893538
Comments: 17
Kudos: 199





	A Pair of Liars

**Author's Note:**

> A silly idea that spawned during my playthrough of V3 with my friends. 
> 
> Some Context for this AU:  
> Kokichi and Celeste are half siblings and they have a fairly large age difference between them  
> Celeste pretty much raised Kokichi and taught him how to lie  
> Celeste and Kyoko went to high school together but 'Ultimates' aren't a thing  
> Kyoko took Shuichi in as her apprentice after his parents died
> 
> EDIT: i can't believe I didn't notice that I had accidentally posted two versions of the same scene, thanks to my lovely beta CallaLily000 for pointing that out to me.

Interruptions.

There are few things she hates more. 

Celestia Ludenburg is a carefully crafted persona, built from the broken pieces of a broken girl to hide the parts she does not want others to see. Celeste does not show irritation, she is always perfectly composed and in control, but that does not mean she is any less irritated. 

Such ugly thoughts do not disappear simply because she does not allow them to show.

The driver stops the car in front of the police station, though Celeste lingers in the backseat and sneers at the building. To think she would be forced to appear here of all places. Not only has she been interrupted, but she will likely run into her as well. Celeste takes a deep breath, schooling her expression into one of calm indifference. She checks her appearance in her pocket mirror, making minute changes to her hair and makeup before opening the car door and stepping outside with all the grace of a queen.

The sun is the enemy of Celestia’s pale skin, so she opens a lace parasol to protect her delicate features. The walk may not be long, but even a moment in the sun is more than Celestia is whiling to bare.

Opening the door to the police station Celeste is almost immediately assaulted by sound and heat. There are uniformed officers standing crowded together in groups speaking among each other and filling the room with incomprehensible conversation. The air is incredibly stuffy but Celeste hides her discomfort and enters. The door closes behind her and seals her inside. She closes her parasol, folding her hands delicately in front of her as she scans the room for someone she can speak to.

For her sins the first person to notice her is the one person she did not wish to see.

Kyoko Kirigiri.

She hasn’t changed much since the last time Celeste saw her. She's just as difficult to read as she was in high school. As a gambler and a liar Celeste is almost envious of Kyoko’s impeccable poker face, not that she would ever admit it. If Celeste did not find Kyoko Kirigiri irritating in every sense of the word she might even call her an equal. In fact during their time together in High School she considered Kyoko something of a rival, and was always trying to outwit her or create a lie so well crafted that even the famed child detective could not sense it.

It doesn’t surprise Celeste to find her former classmate has made a name for herself as a police detective. 

What does surprise her however is the presence of a small dark haired boy standing beside her. 

A mild curiosity. 

Celestia smiles pleasantly, grasping the edge of her skirt to give a beautiful curtsy as Kyoko and the boy approach her. “Ah, it would seem we meet again Miss Detective. I do believer that you have something of mine.”

Kyoko regards Celeste with cool indifference. Her eyes assessing and irritating. “I see. So it wasn’t a lie after all.”

“My my what an ominous thing to say” Celeste replies.

Lavender eyes narrow in suspicion. Celeste has never given Kyoko a reason to trust her, so she isn’t offended. “Follow me” Kyoko instructs, turning on her heel and striding through the station and parting the sea of officers toward a door on the far wall. The boy’s gaze lingers on Celeste a moment too long, however and he doesn't notice that she has left right away. He nearly trips over his own feet as he rushes to fall into step beside Kyoko.

A mild curiosity indeed.

Celeste follows.

Kyoko leads them through the door at the back, then through a locked door, and then passed an armed guard to a dreary hallway of bars and even more locked doors. From it’s depths comes a familiar voice which follows a distinct laugh.

“Nishishi… my darling sister has come for me! To think I thought you’d abandoned me here!”

Celeste regards her darling little brother as he sits in an empty cell and kicks his feet childishly. A deceptive smile splits his face but she is wise to it’s lies. “Dear brother I did consider it.”

Kokichi’s eyes widen and Celeste watches the beginning of tears bead at the corner of his eyes before they even fall down his flushed cheeks. “What? How could you be so cruel big sis!” 

Her eye twitches, but Celestia absolutely does not melt into fond irritation. At least not where others can see. “Tears do not become you.”

Immediately Kokichi brightens and his crocodile tears run dry. “Should have known I couldn’t fool you big sis.”

-

The paperwork to have her brother released requires nothing more than a single signature from her; a mere annoyance to add to her ever growing list of grievances. 

Celeste would have thought Kokichi to be above being caught for something as simple as petty theft. Has she overestimated her brother, or perhaps, was being arrested a small part of some larger plan? What prize could be wroth risking her wrath?

She casts a suspicious glance back at her younger brother. He’s chatting happily with the dark haired boy who has been eagerly following Kyoko’s ever step. The boy looks uncomfortable, hiding his face beneath a black baseball cap while Kokichi casually invades his personal space with too bright eyes and a cheshire grin.

“I wasn’t aware you had a brother” Kyoko says, breaking Celeste’s train of thought.

“Indeed. I must admit my own surprise, I wasn’t aware you had…” Celeste struggles to attach a word to the dark haired boy who is clearly too young to be in a police station acting as Kyoko’s living shadow, “a child?”

As Celeste turns back toward her conversation partner, she catches a familiar smile on Kyoko’s face, one Celeste can only ever recall seeing in the presence of a particular former classmate of theirs. “I so. A Daughter. Shuichi is… my apprentice I suppose is the most accurate term.”

So Kyoko does have a child but not this boy. How strange. Celeste would not have thought Kyoko to type for family. Apparently she has been mistaken. How immensely irritating. “My my! Full of surprises are you?” 

They both turn their gazes to their younger counterparts. The boy, Shuichi Kyoko said his name was, looks far too young to be a proper detective. Than again he can’t be much older than Kokichi himself, and if memory serves Kyoko already had a name for herself as a detective by the time she was their age. 

Kokichi looks comfortable in his presence in a way he seldom does. Her brother is as paranoid as they come, and not once has she seen his eyes tray from Shuichi’s face.

How very curious.

“Your brother is very lucky” Kyoko tells her, “no charges were pressed against him so he’s free to go. Still I’d hate to see him here again.”

Celeste allows herself a small laugh, “lucky you say? I’d imagine not. Luck has never been our forte my brother and me, perhaps you are mistaking us for someone else? Someone shorter with ridiculous hair and a notoriously trustworthy face?” 

Though she says nothing, her cheeks flush which tells Celeste all she needs to know.

The day has been full of surprises. 

“Well Miss Detective thank you for taking care of my dear little brother. I apologize for any trouble he has caused.”

In an instant the fondness bleeds from Kyoko’s expression and she’s back to cold eyes and thin lips. Celeste smiles pleasantly in response. They both know her apology isn’t sincere though neither will mention it. “See to it that it doesn’t happen again.”

Celeste could burst into laughter right then and there.

Kokichi has already stolen more than his weight in useless trinkets over the years, and nothing Celeste says is going to stop him now. Of course she doesn’t say that, and instead gives another curtsy before collecting her troublesome little brother.

-

Having returned to the safety of the car, Celeste permits the slightest slouch to her shoulders as she leans back against black leather seats. She and Kokichi sit in silence, Celeste with her hands folded daintily in her lap and Kokichi kicking his feet into the back of the passenger seat. One might mistake them for relaxed and comfortable, but that would be wrong.

“Would you mind explaining why I had to leave an important game early so that I might pick you up from the police station?” Celeste asks, lifting one hand to examine her nails.

“Didn’t the big scary looking detective lady tell you? You really should learn to pay attention big sis.”

The twitch in her eye returns with a vengeance. “Oh? Here I thought my precious little brother was clever enough to avoid being caught. Or was I mistaken? Are you perhaps not as clever as you so boldly claim to be?” 

Kokichi turns his big beautiful violet eyes on her, betrayal and hurt false on his face. “Bis sis weren’t you the one who taught me everything I know?”

“Indeed, which is how I know for certain you are more than capable of avoiding capture.”

For a blessed moment he says nothing, but the moment does not last. “Then I guess you overestimated yourself, but don’t worry big sis I still love you.”

Celeste turns to face him then, meeting his violet stare with her own. The color makes her all too aware of the crimson contacts in her own eyes. She nearly buckles under the urge to rub at them. Once again she is left to ponder why Kokichi allowed himself to be caught because surly he was not careless enough to let the police catch wind of him. Even a detective as impressive as Kyoko would find her hands full attempting to pin down any of her brothers crimes, and she’d be even more hard pressed making any of them stick.

It’s a point of pride for them both. 

What could be so important that Kokichi would be whiling to crack that pride? 

Since picking him up from the station something has been off about Kokichi. She first noticed it when he was speaking with that baby detective. The way Kokichi let that boy capture all of his attention and the sincere way he smiled.

It could not be so simple could it?

Hm… 

Kokichi may be a practiced liar, but Celeste is the one who taught him. She knows her brother, better than he may realize. He really should know better than to keep secrets from her. “Do not fret dear brother, it is only natural to make mistakes every once in a while.”

“Big sis! Are you suggesting I got caught on purpose? Nishishi… now why would I do that?”

Celeste turns so she is fully facing her brother, bringing one of her legs up onto the seat to do so. Seeing her move, Kokichi shifts to mirror her movements. 

“I have full faith in the police department. I doesn’t surprise me at all that you got caught.” Celeste tells him.

Kokichi’s eyes search her expression, looking for weak points in her poker face. “Hm… true.”

It’s a game they play, something they have done since they were forced together years ago. They each take turns telling lies and the other attempts to catch them in their lie. If the liar succeeds in maintaining their poker face than the other will claim the lie as truth and tell a lie of their own. The game continues until one of them breaks and they give away their lie.

Celeste started the game when they were young, before they learned to trust each other. The game serves two purposes, to help them practice their deception but also to allow them to communicate without the hassle of honesty. 

For a liar it is much easier to admit the truth when it is concealed within a lie. 

“The police are all morons, clearly I didn’t do anything wrong” Kokichi says.

Nothing on his face gives him away. Celeste didn’t expect it to, after all, the game would be boring if it ended so soon. “Truth, and I am not at all bothered that my day was interrupted. After all I know you had a good reason for it.”

For a moment Celeste reads guilt in his eyes. 

“True” he confirms, wrapping his words up in a grin, “I totally thought you were going to leave me to rot in police custody, because clearly you’re the worst sister ever and I don’t trust you.”

So he’s trying to flatter her is he? He will need to do better than that. “Truth. I am certainly lucky that Kyoko Kirigiri was the one to detain you, as I was so happy to see her again. Truly we are the best of friends.”

“Nishishi, true! I know you just love aaaaaaaall your friends from high school! Although I am hurt you never told me you were friends with a real life detective!”

“True.” She leans in closer, “I still have no idea why you allowed yourself to get caught and I have absolutely no intention of finding out.”

Kokichi hesitates just enough to be noticeable. “True” he mumbles, but the cheer returns to his voice for his next lie, “Honestly sis it was just bad luck. I mean me getting caught on purpose? That’s so boring.”

“True” though he hasn’t broken yet, Kokichi’s facade is starting to break. Now she needs to hit him hard. “Shuichi. Kirigiri’s apprentice.”

No visible reaction yet. “Hm? Is that his name? What about him? Are you giving up the game already?” Though he’s trying to look disinterested, he’s starting to sweat, she can tell. 

“The boy detective is the reason you got caught.”

He breaks eye contact for the briefest of seconds.

There.

“Lie” he says.

“Lie” she sing songs back to him.

Kokichi’s expression goes completely blank. It’s as telling as if he had simply told the truth. “There’s no way I got caught on purpose. I’d never waste my time trying to get the attention of some idiot detective in training.”

Celeste taps him on the nose, and ends the game. “Lie.”

Kokichi pouts and slumps back into his seat with his arms crossed. 

He always has been a sore loser.

It’s best to give him a moment to collect himself, so Celeste allows him the opportunity. As she turns away she pulls her purse into his lap and fetches the contact case from it’s depth. With practiced ease she slips the contacts out of her eyes and stows them away. The case goes back into her purse, which she lets fall to the floor of the car without any care.

Warily Kokichi watches her from the corner of his eyes.

Celestia Ludenburg bleeds out in the sudden slouch of her shoulders and the long sigh drawn from her lips. Her eyes close and lets irritation show plainly on her face for the first time in many days. “You shouldn’t need me to tell you that’s a bad fucking idea.”

“You can’t tell me what to do.” Kokichi snaps back.

Defensive. It seems the time for games is over.

“Really?” She scoffs, “you couldn’t come up with anything better than that?”

Kokichi crosses his arms and turns away “...Shut up.”

Rolling her eyes she slumps against the car door, watching the world outside move past. The lace on her stockings is starting to make her thighs itch. “Kokichi when have I ever tried to control a damn thing that you do?”

“So why start now?” He asks.

They’ve cast their masks away but there are words which still sit heavy on her tongue. Even what is left of the woman beneath Celestia has trouble giving away truths so easily. Once more she retreats into the comfort of a lie. “Obviously I don’t care if anything happens to you. You’re not my responsibility.”

Silence makes it’s home between them as Kokichi takes time to consider his words. She waits as she always does.

“Obviously I don’t care if something happened to you either. I mean, it’s not like you’re my only family. I have hundreds of thousands of other family members who are waaaaaaay better than you.”

A smile finds it’s way to her lips. She doesn’t fight it. 

What a pair they make, Celeste and her brother. Quite a pair of liars. They have only each other, but despite all odds that is enough. She will keep him safe, like the lies he wraps around himself, as any good sister would. 

If Kokichi is infatuated with the baby detective there is little she can do to stop him, but she would sooner lay her heart bare for all to see than allow anyone to harm what family she has left. Should he harm her baby brother than she will certainly make the little detective pay for it.

She smiles at her reflection in the window.

Looks like she might end up making an enemy of Kyoko Kirigiri after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun Fact!  
> The daughter Kyoko mentions is Kaede. I had described Kaede to my friends as 'the love child of kyoko and makoto' which was the idea that spawned this entire AU
> 
> I have tons more ideas and headcannons for this universe, so I might make it a series if I get enough inspiration to write it


End file.
